On the night before Christmas, Isaac and the player go on a walk to the streets of New Haven to distract their minds. However, it doesn't take long before they pass by a back alley, where they end up finding the body of gambler and street thug Rowdy Rick with his head bashed in.
Tropes:
- Acquainted with Emergency Services: Both the victim and Vinnie Costa are well-known by the police forces of Concordia, with Isaac recalling that he has apprehended Rick many times.
- Alliterative Name: Rowdy Rick and Trickster Tim.
- Bludgeoned to Death: Rick was murdered by having his head smashed in with a brass barrel tap. A Tap on the Head, if you will.
- Chimney Entry: Pippa is introduced by falling down the victim's chimney while Isaac and the player are investigating his house, since she works as a chimney sweeper and figured that, since Rick was dead, there wouldn't be any problem with sleeping at his place.
- Christmas Episode: The case takes place during Christmas Eve night, and is full of references to A Christmas Carol.
- Continuity Nod: The underground gambling den is located inside the cellar of The Old Ale House, the tavern you visited in Case 1.
- Cranky Landlord: Maggie Scrubber, Rick's landlady, was tired of him gambling away his rent money for her, to the point she hit him in the head with a chamber pot because he kept refusing to pay her.
- Dead Animal Warning: Vinnie sent a dead rat wrapped like a Christmas present to Rick as a warning since he saw Rick talking to a cop, which the rules for street thugs prohibit.
- Dramatic Wind: Isaac and the player stumble onto the body after a gust of wind blows Isaac's hat inside of the alley where the victim is found.
- Food End: The case ends with the Flying Squad and Pippa's family having a Christmas dinner together at the airship with the money they won from the lottery ticket the victim was holding.
- Forced from Their Home: Mr. and Mrs. Caffrey, Pippa's parents', were evicted from their home due to their inability to pay rent, leaving Pippa without home until Evie manages to track their location.
- Frying Pan of Doom; Constable Ramirez is introduced by being hit on the head with a frying pan by Maggie since he wouldn't stop bothering her with police work.
- The Gambling Addict: Rick was this, which got him into a lot of trouble with most of the suspects, as he kept the money that he collected for Mr. Bleak to continue gambling, gambled away the rent he was supposed to pay to Maggie, and bet away most of his possessions to Trickster Tim, the latter causing his death after he refused to pay him and they got into a fight.
- Gangbangers: Both Vinnie and the victim are well-known thugs in New Haven, the former apparently belonging to the Italians and the latter being more of an independent one.
- Genius Sweet Tooth: Isaac, a senior inspector and revered chess player, is revealed to have a weakness for muffins and gingerbread.
- The Grinch: As seen in the page's quote, Isaac doesn't appear to be very fond of Christmas, finding it childish and a waste of time. His opinion isn't also magically changed at the end of the case even when he decides to attend the feast and helps a little girl reunite with her family on Christmas.
- Grumpy Old Man: Mr. Bleak, who is 58, isn't a very pleasant fellow to be around, especially when he's shown to be extremely selfish and lacking any empathy for leaving people in the streets after they refuse to pay him.
- Hypocritical Humor: Isaac remarks that just because he dislikes Christmas it doesn't mean he can't enjoy gingerbread. He also decides to attend the Flying Squad's Christmas fest at the end of the case.
- Illegal Gambling Den: One of the crime scenes is an underground gambling den below a tavern that the victim and some of the suspects frequented.
- I'm a Humanitarian: Rose jokes with this during an analysis, claiming that she's going to roast the killer and eat him for Christmas dinner, something that disturbs Isaac.
- Improvised Weapon: The victim was killed by being hit with a brass tap taken from a barrel.
- Loan Shark: Mr. Bleak works as a money lender with a very high interest rate. He even used Rick to do some "convincing" to people who refused to pay and even got evicted a few of them, such as Pippa's parents.
- The Man Behind the Man: During the Additional Investigation, you discover that it was Rick who blackmailed Officer Koll into burning the evidence from the police station and indirectly caused the fire that destroyed half of New Haven... and then you find out Rick was taking orders from another person to blackmail Koll, making them another instance of this trope.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: What Judge Takakura has to say about the victim and the killer's names.Judge Takakura: "Trickster" Tim, you stand trial for the murder of "Rowdy" Rick...Goodness, does anyone in these proceedings have an honest Christian name?
- Only Known by Their Nickname: We never learn Rowdy Rick and Trickster Tim's real names.
- Pet the Dog: During the Additional Investigation, you help Pippa reunite with her parents after they get evicted and separated from each other, and you even invite them to the Flying Squad's Christmas dinner.
- Professional Gambler: Trickster Tim, although the reason why he's so damn good is because he's a cheater who uses devices to win on card games.
- Racist Grandma: Maggie Scrubber, the victim's old landlady, claims she will rent rooms to anyone, even delinquents, as long as they are not Irish.
- Rambunctious Italian: Vinnie Costa, an Italian thug, has this particular way of expressing himself.
- The Runaway: Pippa ran away from home due to her parents being too poor, deciding to take care of herself by being a chimney sweeper so they wouldn't have to deal with her. Fortunately, you manage to reunite her with them during the Additional Investigation.
- Scary Black Man: Rick is clearly black, and Ezra Bleak used him as an enforcer for those who don't pay him back.
- The Scrooge: Mr. Bleak is a clear parody of Scrooge, being a greedy old man who only cares about himself and the money he lends to other people, and is featured on a Christmas Episode.Isaac: You mean you exploit the misfortunes of the poor... And you employ a thug to beat them up when they can't pay?Mr Bleak: They know the rules when they come to me!
- Shout-Out:
- This case contains many references to A Christmas Carol:
- The case's title is an obvious reference to the novella, and it takes place during Christmas Eve.
- Mr. Bleak is a parody of Ebenezer Scrooge.
- Trickster Tim is named after Tiny Tim.
- Viola mentions writing a play in which a character is visited by ghosts.
- Pip is a parody of Oliver Twist.
- In the Back Alley scene, there is a wanted poster for Jack the Ripper.
- At the end of the case, Viola quotes 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.
- This case contains many references to A Christmas Carol:
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: This case introduces Constable Ramirez, a police officer with an uncanny resemblance to the Ramirez you worked with during Grimsborough. He's even hit with a Frying Pan of Doom during the investigation, which was Officer Ramirez' weapon back in Grimsborough.
- Come The Conspiracy, and you find out Constable Ramirez is an ancestor of Officer Ramirez.
- Sweet Polly Oliver: Pippa is first introduced as a boy named Pip, who later reveals she pretends to be a boy because no one would want to hire a little girl as a chimney sweeper.
- Trapped by Gambling Debts: Rick was killed after he bet his lottery ticket and refused to give it away when he lost it to Trickster Tim, who made both of them engage in a fight that ended up with Rick being murdered.
- With Friends Like These...: Isaac does this in behalf of the victim when you discover Vinnie, his supposed best friend, sent a dead rat as a warning to Rick so he would stop talking to police officers.Isaac: Horsefeathers! With friends like you, Rick had no need for enemies!
